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A unique symbol of faith

Faith, as the saying goes, has the power to move mountains and change the course of mighty rivers. In a civilisation as ancient, spiritual and diverse as ours, it is a commodity never far from hand.

Delhi, which, over the ages has developed its own mystical ambience of spirituality, based on Sufi principles of harmony, universal brotherhood and unity, is dotted with shrines dedicated to the memory of exalted souls. One such holy place is located inside the Airport complex. The immaculately clean, marble-lined and tree-dotted shrine is believed to be the resting place of Hazrat Roshan Khan and Hazrat Kale Khan, two Sufis or Pirs, widely believed to have lived and preached in the area in the 14th-15th Century.

As old-timers living in the vicinity, and those working at the airport recall, “before the airport came up, there were small habitations in the area, which were taken over for construction activity, including the mazaars of the two pirs, who enjoyed a wide following”. While levelling of the area and building of facilities was underway in the mid-‘80s, construction workers were perplexed with frequent equipment breakdown and impediments in trial runs. With no viable reason coming forth, the engineers were a baffled lot.

Some wizened locals opined that since the two saints had been disturbed from their eternal resting place, a curse had befallen on the site which could be surmounted with the restoration of the mazaar. In deference to this advice, the area was developed to its present form, an oasis of green in the concrete landscape and has come to be known as Pir Baba. And as the multitude of believers will vouch, since then, blessings of the Pirs have ensured an incident free, smooth operation, which has strengthened peoples’ faith in the shrine.

The belief that people of all dispensations – cutting across religious barriers – have in the sacred site is obvious from the stream of devout who visit the shrine every day, from tough looking security personnel to humble loaders, from svelte airlines crew to white collared executives. They all make a beeline to the monument. And rare is the person who will cross the compound without bowing his or her head in deference.

And like the mazaar of all Sufis, the annual Urs of the Pirs is celebrated with reverence. Various agencies operating in the airport organise grand bhandaras, where free food is distributed.

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